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I thought the guy was smoking some dope, it turned out to be just tobacco? Is that how it was in the novel? I'm warming up to this series a little, but Eru's breathless excitement at everything is annoying.

It was certainly anti-climatic. Mundane even, like with most relevations in Hyouka so far. Dunno if the novel was like that. But while the smoking age in most of Europe is 16 or 18, it's 20 in Japan, and in any case smoking inside the school would very likely get him detention or suspension. Not to mention that he's from an important family... they'd probably cut his allowance and curfew or even force him to stay in his room lol. Or beat some sense into him physically. I think he had enough cause to be worried and take countermeasures, although it would have been much smarter to simply smoke in some secluded corner on the way home.

It was certainly anti-climatic. Mundane even, like with most relevations in Hyouka so far. Dunno if the novel was like that. But while the smoking age in most of Europe is 16 or 18, it's 20 in Japan, and in any case smoking inside the school would very likely get him detention or suspension. Not to mention that he's from an important family... they'd probably cut his allowance and curfew or even force him to stay in his room lol. Or beat some sense into him physically. I think he had enough cause to be worried and take countermeasures, although it would have been much smarter to simply smoke in some secluded corner on the way home.

You are underestimating Japan.

For a son like him from an upstanding family of educators to be a delinquent and engaging in such behavior goes beyond affecting him. It would be a mark on the careers of everyone in the family and a severe blow to their credibility. Not to mention a severe blow to the reputation of the school and especially the teachers who work there.

How good of an educator are you, if you can't even educate your own children or your own young family members? The societal consequences would be huge.

These ramifications don't exist in western culture. Smoking under age is not detention or suspension in high school, it is grounds for EXPULSION especially because Kaneyama is a private school. Remember, mandatory education is only until the age of 15 or grade 9. The school has no obligation to actually keep the student.

Togaito has so much to lose if he's caught, it's not even funny. It's actually a little incredulous that he would try to pull that off in school.

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Being level-headed like Houtarou is a valuable life skill which very few possess. He's a Kyon-like character which I actually find more interesting than Kyon. Hyouka is keeping me entertained for now, and I hope into the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylphic

You are underestimating Japan.

Very true. The Japanese have a huge blame culture where somebody has to take responsibility for each little incident. Which is exactly why there has been a musical chairs for the Japanese PM. My mum (15 years spent in Japan) also told me about hit and runs involving people getting dragged under cars for the same reason. The punishment and loss of social status is so severe (it is *always* driver's fault) it makes it worth not stopping. This includes becoming unemployable - for life.

And here I was thiking that Oreki was about to reveal a drug ring when the poor guy was only smoking on school grounds (that must be good shit to go as far as putting those sensors, plus he doesn't seem eager to share).

Once again I enjoy those Oreki-Ibara moments -kaeruna- but I seriously can't give a shit about Eru's current problems (we're missing the first volume *screams*).

And here I was thiking that Oreki was about to reveal a drug ring when the poor guy was only smoking on school grounds (that must be good shit to go as far as putting those sensors, plus he doesn't seem eager to share).

Once again I enjoy those Oreki-Ibara moments -kaeruna- but I seriously can't give a shit about Eru's current problems (we're missing the first volume *screams*).

That was one of my favorite parts too. She'd definitely take him through the whole school.

If it was America, it would have been marijuana but it's Japan... so yeah.

Just watched ep 3, very pleased with it. Again it's almost I imagined it to be(up to where the episode will cover).

Spoiler for things that irked me is...:

Tougaito's(?) VA didn't quite match to the character's looks. Still that was pretty amusing how Houtarou got to him.

What I didn't quite expect is that in the novel(the translated one) was Tougaito's state. I kinda imagined him to be calm in this part. I wonder was it just me who missed it that he was kinda uneasy here.

Anyway, can't wait to watch it in better quality.

Haven't read the book, but I agree. That reaction seemed off. You can show him getting rattled without him having a total freakout.

3 episodes in and I still don't get why I'm liking this show with every passing week. Again, the characters are KyotoAni stock characters, there mysteries aren't compelling, the setting is cliche and there's no single wow factor in show that's remotely gripping.

And yet I'm addicted like a drug. Maybe it's Eru's eyes or the standout KyotoAni animation. I still can't understand why I'm waiting for this show every damn week. I don't freaking get it. I honestly have trouble finding a single real quality in this show that makes it stand out, and again it's not exactly the sum of it's parts. Perhaps that's the actual real mystery of the show: how the show is keeping people like me hooked every week when I don't particularly love or like anything about it.

Haven't read the book, but I agree. That reaction seemed off. You can show him getting rattled without him having a total freakout.

Well in any case it was fun seeing Houtarou push Tougaito's buttons. I actually like this devious side of him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korps!

THE WHOLE SCHOOL!? U FUCKIN' KIDDIN' ME!?

My favorite line this episode.

And here I was thiking that Oreki was about to reveal a drug ring when the poor guy was only smoking on school grounds (that must be good shit to go as far as putting those sensors, plus he doesn't seem eager to share).

Once again I enjoy those Oreki-Ibara moments -kaeruna- but I seriously can't give a shit about Eru's current problems (we're missing the first volume *screams*).

Well you do notice that in that he has a reputation to protect. Maybe not his reputation from fellow students, but his reputation from the entirety of the school.

So after 3 episodes, I think it's time to bring out the ultimatum - to keep or to drop. Very surprisingly, it's quite comfortably kept my "keep" threshold.

Now, I've been quite critical of Kyoani in the last few years. Disappearance was the only damn thing that was remotely interesting for me post Clannad: After Story era, and even then I didn't think either series were particularly masterpieces. So in a nutshell, my experiences with Kyoani haven't been the most flash.

However, despite being pretty (but not mindblowingly so), somewhat boring and with pretty lacklustre mysteries, credit should be given when it's due, and for me the series has very much caught my attention by its 3rd episode. After 3 episodes, I figured out why. And before people ask, no its "dem purple eyes" or "dat yuri ed", those were just excuses for me to continue watching until I found the real reason as I'm definitely definitely not one to follow an anime due to some fanservice .

The first reason is obvious, character interactions. There is some great chemistry between the 4 characters and none of the characters are hateable. In fact, I quite like Oreki's "facade" of "lazy prick/dickhead" on the outside, but it's obvious he's a caring person in the inside. He honestly reminds me of a mixture of Kyon and Okazaki in that regard. And Eru, well... I like her assertive, somewhat naive personality, but most of all I like the fact she is definitely not a "moeblob", "tsundere" or any of those extreme character archetypes.

Which brings me onto the second reason: it has a breeze/air or at least an attempt of subtlety that I did not feel from any other previous Kyoani series. Now before the "anti-Kyoani group" or "snob" group comes and rebute this claim (hey, I'll admit to being a bit of an anime snob), let me explain. Have a look at every other Kyoani series and you can see patterns. Kyoani is usually quite "extreme" in their delivery. Key series switched from "slapstick comedy" to "heavy melodrama", Lucky Star/K-on had almost diabetes inducing levels of moe to the point it was offensive to some people and Nichijou was just flat out balls to the walls weird. Haruhi was also quite weird, and also had entire episodes or sessions of silly comedy and melodrama (S1 more notably the former and Disappearance more notably the latter). Hyouka? Well aside from camera zoom in to "dem purple eyes" and Oreki's " Imaginary World of Sparkles", it's quite restrained. Seriously, I'm not seeing much slapstick comedy, melodrama or "moeblob" in Hyouka, which was totally ironic for me since at least one or more of the above was what I expect Kyoani to do, given past history. To find out none of these three elements are overwhelming was very satisfying for me to see.

And third reason: every episode has been slowly but surely getting better and I think I'm partially sold that there's a much bigger picture to portray in the future. I mean it's still relatively boring at the moment, but it leaves me hypothesizing that the 'payoff' might be excellent later on since this is effectively 2 cours. There has been some faint elements of romance and drama in the series too, which leaves me hypothesizing that these romance/drama elements might actually hit centre stage at one point? Further proof? The OP. Initially I thought that the Hyouka has been very inappropriate, but as the episodes aired, it's becoming more and more appropriate. That OP is way too melancholic and bittersweet to mean absolutely nothing. Same goes for the classical music BGM. Perhaps the series ends with Oreki looking back at his highschool days being nostalgic on how much "fun" he had being the Classics club and how he partially wasted by because effectively a "lazy prick" only bothering to do something because "Eru told him to".

Alternatively, what I just said just results me in reading too much into the series and indeed turn more slapstick, melodramatic, moeblob or otherwise lose its subtlety in the future. However, the potential is there and I'm very much taking note of it.

Now, despite me praising this series, it is in no way on the same level as Sakamichi no Appollon, Space Brothers or Fate Zero. But considering how Accel World has completely flopped from a relatively strong start (imo) and decided to go for asspull plot twists in the last two episodes, and Lupin III and Jormungand losing a significant amount of its initial charm, I can surprisingly and safely say that Hyouka actually ranks at about Lupin III and Jorumgand levels for me, which is above Accel World but below the "top 3" mentioned above. I was totally not expecting to rank it this high, but it's always a good thing for me when something exceeds your expectations. Now it's up to Kyoani to see if continues to build up on how they have been doing the episodes so far, or just give in to people claiming it's too "boring" and decide to go off into more or less pandering or emotion manipulation (i.e. heavy melodrama) which is what they have a history of doing. So which path/direction will you take Kyoani?

EDIT: Forgot to add. I never expected or thought of Hyouka as a mystery series, since they are pretty mundane. Particularly when I watched Another just last season. Instead I see the mysteries as a way to build characterization, which it is succeeding with, albeit slowly. I guess that's what happens when you set expectations a certain way.

Well... I've decided to continue watching cause there's finally a real mystery. I'm betting that this will go the way of DC... I just hope that the main mystery and the journey is worth it.

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Homura: Die monster! You don't belong in this world!
Kyubey: It was not by my hand that I am once again given flesh. I was called here by humans who wish to pay me tribute.
Homura: Tribute? You steal girls' souls, and make them your slaves!
Kyubey: Perhaps the same could be said of all religions.
Homura: Your words are as empty as your soul! Lolis ill-needs a savior such as you!
Kyubey: What is a loli? A miserable little pile of moe! But enough talk...have at you!

The "keep or drop" should be around 5-6 episodes (for the 24-26 eps series), if by then the creators have failed to propel the show forward in some concrete way it is almost garantee that the quality will only drop by this point.

Hyou-ka started by setting the bar pretty low so it is natural (and good) that it will improve a bit after each episode (the last anime that had this effect on me was Kannagi who kept getting better every weak during the first half). Most animes will try their best to have a strong start followed by a batch of shallow episodes (Gundam AGE for example).

BTW asides from the usual praises regarding the show's animation... I particularly liked the part where Chitanda was telling her story to Houtaro. The style kinds of reminds me of how Kyouko told her story in MadoMagi. I really like that kind of style to tell a character's story.

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Homura: Die monster! You don't belong in this world!
Kyubey: It was not by my hand that I am once again given flesh. I was called here by humans who wish to pay me tribute.
Homura: Tribute? You steal girls' souls, and make them your slaves!
Kyubey: Perhaps the same could be said of all religions.
Homura: Your words are as empty as your soul! Lolis ill-needs a savior such as you!
Kyubey: What is a loli? A miserable little pile of moe! But enough talk...have at you!

I'm enjoying this series a little more each week. The mystery regarding Eru's uncle is a lot more interesting than the weekly mysteries, and makes for a pretty good hook. I'm also slowly getting used to the characters. I love the dynamic between Eru and Houtarou, it's what has kept me from getting too bored so far. Their interaction are really entertaining. Houtarou's reaction when Eru mentioned she intended to search the whole school cracked me up.

The mystery of the week was a little better than the past two, but it was still incredibly mundane. I too thought that guy was doing something slightly more reprehensible than smoking cigarettes, given how much trouble he went through to hide it (sensors, WTF!).